President Biden is again escalating his public condemnation of Vladimir Putin. As evidence emerges of mass atrocities against civilians in areas around Kyiv, Biden on Monday doubled down on his branding of Putin as a "war criminal" and said the US is gathering information about alleged war crimes, reports the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. "We have to get all the detail so this can be an actual war-crime trial," he told reporters. "This guy is brutal, and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone has seen it." He added, per CNBC: "I think it is a war crime. ... He should be held accountable." Biden spoke after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucha himself and labeled the actions of Russia a "genocide," per CNN.
"It's very difficult to negotiate when you see what they have done here," said Zelensky, adding that Russian soldiers "treat people worse than animals." Ukraine officials say the bodies of more than 400 civilians have been recovered from towns around Kyiv, some with their hands bound behind their backs, and journalists from the AP counted at least 21 bodies around Bucha itself. On Monday, the European Union announced it would launch a joint investigation with Ukraine into possible war crimes. Russia has denied that its military is responsible for any atrocities against civilians.
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